The IronPigs got off to a miserable start, losing their first 11 games and scoring only 16 runs in that stretch while hitting .185 as a team. They finally won their first game on April 14, 3-1, over the Richmond Braves, behind the pitching of Ron Chiavacci, who threw six scoreless innings.

"IronPigs" is derived from "Pig Iron", the raw iron melted down to make steel, one of the strongest metal alloys known to earth. Pig Iron is the product of smelting iron ore with coke and limestone in a blast furnace. The iron was called Pig Iron, because it ran into a row of molds, said to resemble a row of iron pigs.